Take It Or Leave It!
'Take it or leave it' is rough when you hear it. Really rough. And when you use it, sometimes you can pull it off and sometimes you can't. Obviously if you have all the leverage, it's much easier to pull off. And it doesn't mean you have to use, "take it or leave it". You could say something like, "That's it, we don't negotiate." But, I actually don't recommend using... Read more
Always Be Closing Is BS
ABC - Always Be Closing. It's been the sales war cry and tagline for sales for generations. Sales people always quote a movie like Glengarry Glen Ross and beat their chests to it. But the truth is, it's really bad advice and total BS. If you're ever in training for complex or technical sales in a B2B environment and someone tries to teach you this, walk out and don't look... Read more
Managing Conflict In Negotiation
Having spent a career in negotiation, managing conflict has become part of my life. I've been on the receiving end of screaming, swearing, and threats of physical violence. Conflict is inevitable in negotiations. It won't happen all the time, but it will happen some of the time. So when conflict in negotiation arises, what do you do next? The first time someone ever screamed at me in a negotiation it... Read more
Read (And Seek to Understand) The Contract
If I could count the amount of times that I've dealt with someone that has gotten caught signing something that they didn't agree to/didn't understand, well....I'd have a big number (It's happened to all of us, so don't be embarrassed). Then, when that person realizes that they get less/own less/have to wait longer or they have to pay more/do more/move faster the line you hear most often is, "Well, in... Read more
Acting Lost In Negotiations 9The Columbo Technique)
Columbo (with his shabby raincoat, his cigar, and his generally 'lost' demeanor) was a hero of mine growing up (him and Angela Lansbury in Murder She Wrote). He seemed to fumble his way through things and his genuinely curious and interested personality always seemed to get the better of him. He claimed confusion on just about everything and by doing so got the other party (the suspects he was investigating)... Read more
Dramatic Pause In Negotiation
Good negotiation and good public speaking are very similar in a lot of ways. And it's probably easiest to describe dramatic pause by relating it to good public speaking. Ever seen Barack Obama speak? Barack Obama is a master of the dramatic pause. I don't care what you think about him or his policies, but that man knows how to create dramatic effect in a speech. He controls his speeches... Read more
Good Guy/Bad Guy Negotiating
We see the good guy/bad guy routine on T.V. all the time. It's always some detective drama or movie where the two cops come in and run the routine and within minutes they're getting the suspect to spill their guts in a dimly lit room with a metal table and metal chairs. But is the good guy/bad guy routine BS or does it actually work? The scene is always the... Read more
Negotiating A Raise
I was going to write a post about all the different types of negotiations that you can have in the workplace and make a very 'listy' type post, but then I remembered that I hate those types of posts (even if they get more eyeballs). So, I decided to get specific and go through the types of negotiations you have in the workplace, but get deeper into each one. I... Read more
Splitting The Difference And Other Crazy Ideas
Well, I guess I should say, don't offer to split the difference. There can be very good reasons to accept someone else's offer to split the difference, but there's never a good reason to offer to split the difference. Let's say for example you're purchasing software licenses (originally offered at $70 per user and you originally countered with $40) and you've gone through a few rounds of negotiation and... Read more
Price Transparency In Negotiations
"I need you to break this price down for me.", "What is behind this price.", "Please show me the cost build up.", "Please provide full price transparency." If you're a salesperson you've heard this request or some request of this question more times than you care to count. If you're a procurement person, this is a part of your daily repertoire. You expect price transparency. Why is price transparency such... Read more